Conflict

Turkish Military in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

TS481

Location

كوباني, Kobani, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.889165, 38.353649
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

Up to five people, including three women, were killed and up to seven others were wounded in alleged Turkish drone strikes on the city of Kobani at 4pm on December 25, 2021. Sources are conflicted as to whether the victims were civilians in a home or escorts with a Syrian Defense Forces leader.

Hawar News Agency quoted the Autonomous Administration in the Euphrates as reporting that a Turkish drone attack in Kobani killed two civilians and injured seven others after striking a home east of the city. The statement added that all of the victims were taken to the city’s hospitals.

Hawar News later updated the death toll to five civilians killed by Turkish drone strikes. The Council of Martyrs’ Families in Kobani told Hawar that among the injured who were receiving treatment in the hospital, three lost their lives despite all the doctors’ attempts to save their lives. The source also provided the names of those killed: Nujian Ocalan, Vian Kobani, Rojen Ahmed Issa, Murhaf Khalil Ibrahim, and Walid Muhammad Manla Hussein. An image also provided shows that three of the victims were women.

A Facebook post from Ain Issa Plus identified Murhaf Khalil Ibrahim as being affiliated with the revolutionary youth in Ain Issa and added that he was killed at a gathering of SDF elements.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Turkish drones struck a house in the Maktalah neighbourhood near a Russian base east of Kobani city and the attack left two persons dead and three others wounded.

A media activist in Hasaka, Abu Omar al-Bukamali, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that a Turkish drone targeted a SDF leader in the city of Ayn al-Arab, killing his escorts and wounding seven others, some of them civilians, who were in the vicinity of the site. It is unclear if those referred to as escorts were also members of the SDF or civilians.

However, the co-chair of the Interior Ministry in the Euphrates region of the Autonomous Administration, Buzan Khalil, told local media that a Turkish army drone targeted a civilian house housing displaced people from the city of Tal Abyad in the Biman neighborhood, east of the city of Kobani, which led to the killing of two civilians and wounding seven others.

All of the sources that reported on the incident attributed the drone strikes to Turkey.

Victims

Individuals

Nujian Ocalan نوجيان أوجلان
female killed
Vian Kobani فيان كوباني
female killed
Rojen Ahmed Issa روجين أحمد عيسى
female killed
Murhaf Khalil Ibrahim مرهف خليل إبراهيم
male killed
Walid Muhammad Manla Hussein و وليد محمد منلا حسين
male killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
2–5
3 Women, 1–2 Men
Civilians reported injured
3–7
Military actors reported killed
0–1

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the eastern area of Kobane (كوباني), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.889165, 38.353649. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

Turkish Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Turkish Military
Turkish Military position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (2)